British Airways is set to retire its entire fleet of Boeing 747, four years ahead of the earlier proposed 2024 deadline.
This development, which according to the airline is with immediate effect, is occasioned by the effects that the COVID-19 crisis has had on the aviation sector.
“It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire our entire 747 fleets with immediate effect. It is unlikely our magnificent ‘queen of the skies’ will ever operate commercial services for British Airways again due to the downturn in travel caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic.
“While the aircraft will always have a special place in our heart, as we head into the future we will be operating more flights on modern, fuel-efficient aircraft such as our new A350s and 787s, to help us achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050” the company stated in a statement.
British Airways has operated the plane since July 1989 and is currently the world’s biggest operator of the 747-400 model with a fleet of 31 aircraft. The aircraft is powered to a top speed of 614mph by four Rolls Royce engines, to destinations in China, the US, Canada, and Africa.
UK airlines have struggled to cope with the collapse in demand caused by the Coronavirus crisis, with EasyJet, British Airways, and Virgin Atlantic all announcing job cuts and reduced operations.
Recall that with 7.5 million job loss and $419b lost in revenue according to statistics from the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the aviation sector has been one of the worst-hit by the COVID 19 pandemic.